Disc drive memory systems have been used in computers for many years for storage of digital information. Information is recorded on concentric tracks of a magnetic disc medium, the actual information being stored in the forward magnetic transitions within the medium. The discs themselves are rotatably mounted on a spindle, while the information is accessed by read/write heads has generally located on a pivoting arm which moves radially over the surface of the rotating disc. The read/write heads or transducers must be accurately aligned with the storage tracks on the disk to ensure proper reading and writing of information.
During operation, the discs are rotated at very high speeds within an enclosed housing using an electric motor generally located inside the hub or below the discs. Such known spindle motors typically have had a spindle mounted by two ball bearings to a motor shaft disposed in the center of the hub. The bearings are spaced apart, with one located near the top of the spindle and the other spaced a distance away. These bearings allow support the spindle or hub about the shaft, and allow for a stable rotational relative movement between the shaft and the spindle or hub while maintaining accurate alignment of the spindle and shaft. The bearings themselves are normally lubricated by highly refined grease or oil.
The conventional ball bearing system described above is prone to several shortcomings. First is the problem of vibration generated by the balls rolling on the bearing raceways. This is one of the conditions that generally guarantee physical contact between raceways and balls, in spite of the lubrication provided by the bearing oil or grease. Hence, bearing balls running on the generally even and smooth, but microscopically uneven and rough raceways, transmit the rough surface structure as well as their imperfections in sphericity in the vibration of the rotating disc. This vibration results in misalignment between the data tracks and the read/write transducer. This source of vibration limits the data track density and the overall performance of the disc drive system. Vibration results in misalignment between the data tracks and the read/write transducer. Vibration limits therefore the data track density and the overall performance of the disc drive system.
Further, ball bearings are not always scalable to smaller dimensions. This is a significant drawback, since the tendency in the disc drive industry has been to continually shrink the physical dimensions of the disc drive unit.
As an alternative to conventional ball bearing spindle systems, much effort has been focused on developing a fluid dynamic bearing. In these types of systems lubricating fluid, either gas or liquid, functions as the actual bearing surface between a stationary shaft supported from the base of the housing, and the rotating spindle or hub. Liquid lubricants comprising oil, more complex fluids, or other lubricants have been utilized in such fluid dynamic bearings. The reason for the popularity of the use of such fluids is the elimination of the vibrations caused by mechanical contact in a ball bearing system, and the ability to scale the fluid dynamic bearing to smaller and smaller sizes.
Fluid dynamic bearing motors have been developed in which a net hydraulic pressure is generated by an asymmetric journal bearing located on the shaft of the bearing. Such asymmetric bearings exert a force on fluid in the bearing gap (typically the journal) toward one end or the other of the journal.
However, current fluid dynamic bearing designs are susceptible to unintended and/or fluctuating journal asymmetry pressure due to part tolerances such as gap (i.e., in the journal) and taper (i.e., cylindricity of the bore and shaft). A traditional solution that has worked well in the prior art to negate the effects of unintended journal asymmetry pressure has been to “vent” regions of the bearing by connecting them, via a recirculation hole, to another region of ambient or atmospheric pressure.
This venting concept has worked well in prior art designs to negate the effects of unintended journal asymmetry pressure variation. However, some bearing designs could benefit from utilizing journal asymmetry pressure to augment or replace an axial thrust bearing were it not so disadvantageous due to large tolerance fluctuations.
Furthermore, by venting the bearings to negate journal asymmetry pressure, the natural “dash pot” damping effect achieved by non re-circulating bearings is diminished. That is, under short-pulse axial shock conditions, a fluid bearing shaft disposed in a sleeve bore that is closed at one end acts as a dash pot or piston-cylinder system to attenuate shock response. A way to re-circulate fluid dynamic bearings while restoring this inherent damping quality would be advantageous as well.
Therefore, a need exists for a fluid dynamic bearing design that can effectively and efficiently achieve fluid re-circulation without foregoing some of the advantages of non-recirculated bearing design.